IBS

Hello everyone,

I am a 59-year-old male living in the UK, and I have been struggling with unexplained abdominal symptoms for about one year.

My main symptoms are:

• Constant abdominal discomfort, present every day.

• Visible abdominal bloating/distension, often present from the moment I wake up and lasting all day.

• A feeling of tension and pressure around my belly button area.

• Sometimes I also feel tightness under my ribs, both in the front and in my back.

• Loud bowel noises.

• Occasional short episodes of more severe discomfort lasting 5–15 minutes.

What is unusual is that I do not have the typical IBS symptoms:

• No diarrhea.

• No significant constipation.

• No abdominal cramps.

• No burning sensation or acid reflux.

• I do not burp excessively.

My bowel movements are usually every 2 days. The stool is generally normal in appearance and consistency. However, when I first feel the urge to go, I sometimes have difficulty starting the bowel movement even though the stool is not hard.

Another thing I have noticed is that having a bowel movement does not usually improve my symptoms. Sometimes I actually feel worse afterwards.

The bloating and discomfort are present almost constantly when I am awake, but I usually do not notice them while sleeping.

Over the last year, my symptoms have become severe enough that I have been unable to work.

So far I have:

• Seen a gastroenterologist.

• Tried dietary changes, including a strict low-sugar/SIBO-style diet.

• Tried Amitriptyline without success.

• Tried Gabapentin (900 mg/day), which may have reduced the longer severe discomfort episodes but did not resolve my daily symptoms.

• Tried Duloxetine 60 mg, but I stopped after one dose because it caused significant difficulty urinating.

My GP has now arranged:

• Blood tests.

• Stool tests.

• A CT scan referral.

A relative of mine who is a gastroenterologist suggested that SIBO should be considered, but I have not yet had a hydrogen breath test.

Has anyone experienced similar symptoms, especially constant bloating and abdominal discomfort without diarrhea or significant constipation? I would be very interested to hear your experiences.

Thank you for reading.

Ferenc